The most important meal of the day

The smell of cooked bacon wafted through the air as Nick entered the kitchen and he was soon greeted by the most glorious of breakfast spreads. A full plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, French toast, and pancakes of several varieties were laid in what was perhaps the most beautiful sight Nick's hungover brain had ever born witness to.

Eric, still humming away happily at the stove looked over his shoulder to greet Nick with a bright smile. "Good morning!"

"Morning,"

Nick wasted no time in pilling bacon and eggs onto his plate, his mouth watering at the greasy goodness that awaited. There was a feeling of utter delight as he sat down and took the first bite of bacon which had been cooked to perfection under Eric's expert care. Three pieces down and a mouthful of eggs later and Nick's hangover was mostly forgotten. If anything, he felt great; like he could run a mile. Though that might be problematic with his morning wood, all 8 inches hanging down his leg.

"Here, some vitamin C for you."

When he looked up a glass of orange juice sat on the counter before him which he drank gratefully. Eric was always doing stuff like that; making sure Nick was eating right, taking care of him whenever he was sick, helping him study back when he thought exams were going to overwhelm him.

"Oh," Eric said as a thought occurred to him. He turned and looked at Nick with a benign smile, "could you take all the sheets off your bed after breakfast? I'm going to be doing laundry later."

Nick took another gulp of OJ and nodded. "Sure," he took another bite of bacon, chewed and asked, "what's the plan after that? You gonna be doing another stream today?"

"Yeah," he replied absently as he began to clean the frying pan, his hands working with practiced diligence, "I was going to show people an old family trick about how to remove a wine stain using club soda and lemon juice. I think it'll go over well."

"Does that really work?"

"Of course," Eric laughed lightly, "I've used it a dozen times on those white shirts of yours," he gave Nick a soft smack with his dish cloth, "You really need to be more careful in future mister!"

Nick sighed, waving Eric's chastisement away. How many times had Eric nagged him like this? Always on him about how dirty his clothes got, or how messy he kept his room. He knew it came from a place of concern, but he was a grown man now and didn't need to be babied all the time.

He finished his plate and downed the remainder of juice as he heard Armond come down the stairs. "Well, guess the shower's free. Thanks for the breakfast."

Eric hummed in response and continued cleaning. Nick was about to leave when he noticed something that made him pause. Eric's hair was tied into a neat bun, had it always been that long? He vaguely remembered his friend having it shorter. And though it was partially obscured by the apron he was wearing, Eric's hips seemed...wider?

Nick wasn't sure what to think. Everything felt completely normal, yet...off, somehow and he struggled with the distant confusion all the way into the shower before chalking it up to remnants of the hangover making his head fuzzy.

From his place in the kitchen Eric sighed as he watched Nick rush upstairs. A hand absently came to rest on his stomach. His mother had taught him the club soda trick, and she had learnt it from her mother. Eric just hoped that one day Nick would have a daughter whom he could pass the tradition onto. It was, after all, the duty of the woman of the house to know these things...